FX.co ★ Japanese Market Sharply Lower; Down 2.5%

On Friday, the Japanese stock market experienced a significant decrease, as the influential Nikkei 225 index fell by 2.5 percent, dropping below the 38,800 level. This decline was largely felt across the board, with most sectors experiencing losses led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

Japanese stocks, including those of market giant SoftBank Group and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing, experienced a dip of over 2 percent. This downward trajectory was also reflected in the automobile industry, with Honda's stocks falling nearly 1 percent, and Toyota's stocks dropping over 2 percent. Additionally, notable technology companies Advantest and Tokyo Electron saw a near 5 percent decrease in stocks, alongside Screen Holdings, who suffered a decline of over 4 percent.

Banks were not spared either, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial experiencing more than a 2 percent decrease in value. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial both saw a similar pattern, with almost a 2 percent decline each.

Export giants Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic were also affected, with losses of 2.5 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, and Sony and Canon stocks each slipped over 1 percent. Other companies that had significant losses included Tokyo Electric Power and Socionext, whose stocks plummeted by almost 9 percent and 6.5 percent respectively, alongside Credit Saison and Minebea Mitsumi, whose values fell nearly 5 percent each.

Japan's economic reports indicated that the average household spending in February was at 279,868 yen, a 0.5 percent decrease year on year, as reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. However, this beat the forecasted 2.8 percent decline, an improvement on the 6.3 percent slump recorded in January. There was an increase of 1.4 percent in household spending month on month, exceeding the anticipated 0.5 percent gain after the 2.1 percent dip a month earlier. Nevertheless, average household income was at 561,495 yen, reflecting a 2.5 percent year on year decrease.

Currency wise, the US dollar traded in the lower 151 yen-range on Friday. Unfortunately, despite significant gains throughout most of the trading day on Thursday, Wall Street stocks fell sharply towards the end of the session. Similarly, major European markets witnessed an upward trend, with a modest gain in the UK's FTSE 100 Index and Germany's DAX Index. On the other hand, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures saw a fifth consecutive session gain, ending higher by $1.16 or 1.4 percent at $86.59 a barrel due to geopolitical tensions causing concerns about supply disruptions.